Tween sewing

Several years ago I made my eldest girl a Sophie Tunic from Sisboom as a sun/beach cover-up. She's loved it and worn it to death but for a while now it's been way too small and she's been asking for an update. So when we were in a fabric store together recently I asked her to pick out a new fabric. She chose this lovely Cloud 9 printed cotton (proud mother moment ;-)

I think this is a great style for kids, not too cutesy or fussy and easy to wear. The fabric was lovely to work with and the top came together well and easily. If anything I find the Sisboom patterns a bit over-explained but then I guess that makes sure newbie sewers are covered.

The only change I made was to add sleeve tabs.  The tab pattern is from my Make it Perfect Shearwater Kaftan pattern, which is like a grown-up version of the Sophie tunic. Make it Perfect now also have a little girl 'mini' version of the Shearwater, but as I already had the Sisboom pattern I thought I'd better save my pennies and re-use it. Don't you love kids patterns with a large range of sizes!

I also made her some new shorts, which happen to go reasonably well with the shirt. The pattern is Dana from Madeit's Shorts pattern, which is a great basic, especially for someone with a few kids to clothe - the sizing goes from 12 months to 10 years and Dana includes lots of tutorials for variations on her website/ It's one of those patterns where I wondered whether I should draft them myself, but really, for $8 you get all of those sizes already drafted, and who doesn't like to support the lovely indie designers. This is the 4th pair of shorts I've made from this pattern and I'm sure there will be many more.

For these I used a piece of black linen with some stretch my my stash, redesigned the front to add sewn in pockets (easy to do if you've sewn pockets before) and added 2 large decorative buttons.

She likes the whole outfit so we're both happy :-)

Screen printed produce bags

While I was screen printing fabric for my beetroot design aprons and tea towels recently I decided I might as well print some more fabric while I was all set up. So I grabbed some heavy weight cotton and cut 2 large squares.



Inspired by a huge cotton shopping bag I use for groceries on a daily basis, I then sewed this large tote, calling it a 'Produce bag'. I'm thinking that like the bag that inspired it, it would be great for grabbing some milk, fruit and bread, which seem to be daily essentials around here. Or possibly a trip to the fruit & vegie markets to load up with goodies.



The straps are strong enough to comfortably carry quite a bit of weight if need be and they're long too, giving you free hands for escorting littlies across the road ;-)



So what was a bit of off-the-cuff inspiration ended up being one of my favourite items. One went to The Sweets Workshop, along with the tea towels, trivets and aprons, and I'm planning to make more in the new year. If only I had time to make some as Christmas presents :-( Oh well, on that note I think I have to admit defeat!

- - - - - -

In unrelated goings-on, my little girl turned 4 yesterday and we had a little party for her on the weekend. There was no notable craftiness to show you, though I did make a 'princess cake' - one of those where the skirt is the cake and then you rip the legs off a barbie doll and stick it in the middle of the cake. It was fun to make and she loved it, but when a friend remarked that she didn't think I was the 'barbie type' of mum it did make me think... the balance became a bit off between letting my girl do and have what she'd like for her birthday (not just the cake) but also keeping a lid on the consumerist girliness. Hmm, something for me to keep in mind in future. This parenting gig is not simple!

The ups and downs of gift giving

Today I read a post about handmade gift giving by Manda at Treefall and it got me thinking about what a minefield gift giving can be, and in particular giving presents you've made by hand.

Manda pointed out that some people don't see the value in handmade because it didn't 'cost' anything, and that some people feel cheated out of a store bought present. She's right that everyone has their own stories of disappointment or success. For me one that hurt was a friend giving me a flat, unexcited 'thanks' for a baby journal I'd given her for her newborn, and never mentioned the journal again. I'd spent weeks collecting nursery rhymes to put in it, hand illustrating the nursery rhymes and binding it by hand. Maybe she didn't like it, maybe she thought it was store bought or maybe it just wasn't very good ;-) This friend had always bought me expensive presents in the past, so much so that I felt I couldn't compete. But this hurt because I thought she missed the fact that I spent the time and effort on it because of what she, and her new baby, meant to me. I don't think people hand make presents expecting extra thanks, but we do hope people 'get it' - that we do it because they mean something to us.

On the other hand, a couple of years ago I gave a friend a little handmade decoration for her tree and she said she almost cried when she opened it because she was so touched by it. See, she got it. Over the years I'm sure I have accidently upset people with my reactions to gifts at times, and I've also given some gifts that I felt weren't quite right. Situations where I'd thought and thought about what to get but just couldn't seem to think of something they'd really like and settled for second best. It's a hard thing to get right, don't you think?

Happily this year I felt my gifts were good enough to give away this year (as Manda did), and people did seem to get it. Over the next week or so I want to show you some of the things that were exchanged over the holiday period.

Have a lovely new year's eve everyone, and best of luck for 2011. Thanks for coming here and reading my ramblings in my first year of blogging. Without you I'd just be talking to myself :-)

Handmade

Lately I seem to see handmade objects everywhere I go. I knew handmade was getting incredibly popular but it's amazing me just how extensive it's getting. It's fantastic and very encouraging to see.



I visited a fantastic new local gallery shop yesterday called Sweets Workshop. They stock fantastic affordable art and decorative objects. I fell in love with pretty much everything there and vowed to look there next time I need a present for someone (hmm, wonder if I could include myself in that ;-) instead of shopping at a big chain store. On their website they say "As designers, our dream is quite simple: to have a space that allows us the freedom to be creative and support fellow independent artists and designers".


I bought a copy of Mixtape whilst there. I'd heard of this craft zine but had never had a copy (Chiara, I'm sure you must have this!). It hasn't disappointed me - it is beautifully designed (this is very important in my opinion), it's packed with interesting stuff including tutorials and interviews and is very inspiring. I'll be looking out for it in future, and apparently they have a kids issue (aimed at parents and carers) in the pipeline.





It also seems like lately everywhere I look there are articles about the backlash to consumerism and waste (she says, having just drooled over a shop full of things).

I've felt uncomfortable about all the waste we generate for a while now, so I'm going to try to make a big effort to ask myself if I really need something that I'm considering buying or acquiring. Today I had planned to go and buy some fabric and supplies for a couple of projects I have in mind, but instead I thought I'd make an effort to look in my stash first to see if I could make do... and I found things that will be perfect with a little compromise. Of course we still have to buy stuff (I feel like a permanent resident of the local supermarket), and it's not always going to be possible to compromise or say no, but I guess every bit helps and it works towards changing habits. And stores like Sweets Workshop and The Trading Circle are obviously great options.

I read an interesting blog post recently where the writer said that when she wants to buy something new she asks herself to imagine that landfill doesn't exist and she must get rid of everything she wants to throw out in her own backyard. This helps her to make the decision. Hmm, an interesting thought!

Have a lovely weekend.

Finally...

...I've put my new 'babies' in to my Etsy and Madeit shops.
After a lightbulb moment a while back I made heat pack teddies (or 'beenies' as they call them) for my girls. Then decided to make some more. There were prototypes:



And many more prototypes...



And after feedback from
a. my chief tester big girl "can I keep them all mama?"
b. friends who'd received them as presents
and
c. rigorous testing through play (namely being thrown down flights of stairs) on our recent weekend away,
I'd finally perfected my pattern (and reinforced the stress points!)



I hope someone loves them like they're loved in this house...

Crochet stories - old

I think it's a good bet that almost every Australian child of the 70's had one of these crocheted blankets. Mine seems to be a classic example, square in shape and made out of all sorts of bits and pieces of yarn. One of my grandmothers made it for me and having it on my bed is one of my earliest childhood memories.

All these years later I wonder if Nana would be pleased to see that it's made it's way back onto a bed and is being used by my daughters, the great granddaughters she didn't meet. I guess she might say, in her typical joking way "you should throw that old thing out!" but I think she'd be happy.

Seeing it every day makes me think about how we connect with our pasts and those who are no longer with us, but also how craft can foster that connection.

I wonder if anything I make my kids over the years will last the distance, and if it will be a typical style of the 2010's.

Do you have one of these crocheted beauties, or something else crafted for you that reminds you of a loved one?

And what do you think is a signature craft or design of our times?